Maialino's Olive Oil Cake
Author Notes: Olive oil cake at its best has a crackling crust and an aromatic oil-rich middle, which, if it held any more moisture, would be pudding. Pulling this off should be easy -- there aren't even egg whites to whip and fold, or butter to cream -- but it isn't always. This one, however, is perfect, and will ruin you for all others. Recipe from Maialino Restaurant in New York City. Maialino also serves it at breakfast in muffin form, and they've been known to turn it into a birthday cake, layered with mascarpone buttercream. —Genius Recipes
Makes a 9-inch round cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/3 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
- Heat the oven to 350° F. Oil, butter, or spray a 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. (If your cake pan is less than 2 inches deep, divide between 2 pans and start checking for doneness at 30 minutes.)
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest and juice and Grand Marnier. Add the dry ingredients; whisk until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely, 2 hours.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes: Olive Oil|Fruit|Desserts|Cakes
Topics: Cake
18 days ago NZ
Any idea about the nutritional information
about 1 month ago Marghet
I got RAVE reviews for this cake! I baked it in a 10in springform pan and found it baked wonderfully. I served it with a ricotta whipped frosting and plums, but I would love to use a honey and apple (and ricotta or mascarpone whipped frosting). I think adding a little bit of ginger in the fall as opposed to the zest might add some nice heat. I also ended up doing a few things to the olive oil cake:
1) I separated the egg yokes and whites. Then I emulsified the egg yokes and oil before adding any of the wet ingredients.
2) I put foil on the olive oil cake about half way through and took it off when it had about 10-15 minutes left to bake. I found this produced a nice golden color as opposed to the much darker color and dryer crust it was getting in my oven without foil.
about 1 month ago Kim Mingledorff Stebbins
I have made this 3 times since Christmas and have given the recipe to friends and family. I LOVE this cake. The oven I used the first 2 times required a good hour to bake. The 3rd time was in a new house with new oven and it was done in 45 minutes. It's important to use a cake tester or long toothpick to check for doneness. I have used Petron orange liquor, which was good, but nothing beats Grand Marnier. I served it at brunch with berries macerated in 25 yr balsamic and a little sugar, along with mascarpone whipped cream (with a glug of Grand Marnier added) and champagne cocktails. It was the perfect dessert.
about 2 months ago kathleen gardner
I substituted orange olive oil for the virgin olive oil and it was delicious! It didn't need any glaze due to deep orange flavor and it's moistness!
about 1 month ago Ticketytwo
Omg. Such a great idea. I just ordered some orange olive oil on Amazon. This cake is delicious with plain olive oil so this will make it even better. I never use glaze, it doesn't need it.
4 months ago Lori
Can I freeze this cake? I wondered because of the comments about the oil settling to the bottom.
4 months ago Lori
Also wonder about refrigeration
6 months ago pattyrat
I made this cake for the first time yesterday, for Easter dinner with the family. I read many of the comments about altering the recipe. I usually try the recipe as written first before making alternations on the next try. I did that with this cake with one exception - I did cut the sugar in half, which I do frequently when following baking recipes. I loved the cake. Some may consider it "oily", but I see it as dense and rich. I may try it with less oil next time just to see the difference - but I enjoyed the texture and flavor. The orange flavor is very subtle. I also topped the cake with a mascarpone buttercream as suggested (and a little more orange zest) - 4 oz. unsalted butter, 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 4 oz. mascarpone, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and pinch of salt (was more than enough to top the cake).
6 months ago Atelier Allison
I made this cake yesterday for my Easter brunch dessert (served with fresh berries and Mascarpone cream). It is SO GOOD! Run, don't walk to your kitchen and bake one tonight. You probably have everything you need already. Trust. I baked mine in a springform tube pan and it is perfect. If you do the same, start checking it about ten minutes earlier than recipe suggests. Thank you Maialino for sharing.
6 months ago Yabbadoo
Another tip. You can make a glaze topping by combining a a little bit of orange juice to powdered sugar. Pour over the warm cake and let the cake cool. Another variation is to add some orange zest. When my friend had her first bite she said it was like biting into a fresh orange. I was very pleased I was able to transform pantry ingredients into a wonderful treat.
6 months ago Yabbadoo
I made cup cakes from this recipe this weekend with a mixture of neighborhood oranges. I cut the olive oil, sugar and salt in half. I started the wet ingredients by separating the eggs, beat the eggs yolks with the oil and then beating in one at a time the egg whites, orange juice, 2% milk and liquor. Emulsifying the yolks with the oil cuts down on the oiliness and gives it a nice blended light and soft texture (Thanks Alton Brown for teaching me this technique). The cook time was 30 minutes. I've made orange cakes before and now this is my family's new favorite.
5 months ago Elizabeth
I used your technique and it really worked! The second batch were a bit oiler - I think it must have broken a bit from sitting out so long - but the first batch was beautifully light and fluffy. Thank you!
6 months ago Monica
I usually love olive oil cake, but this recipe is too oily for my taste. When I press down on a slice with a fork, oil oozes out of it. Apart from that, the cake is very moist, the flavor is nice, and the outer crust is deliciously caramelized. If I were to attempt this cake again I would halve the olive oil.
6 months ago Gleba
Loved the taste, but found it a bit too oily. Next time I'll put more milk and less oil.
7 months ago ItsBrooksie
I die over this recipe. I'm an orange fiend and the slight orange flavor is perfect. But more importantly -- the texture of this cake is so amazing. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to baking cakes without olive oil! I think it tastes best cold, so I keep it in the refrigerator after I have that first warm slice.
Question though -- anyone else have a problem with the middle still being slightly gooey while they outside is clearly done? Can I adjust the cooking time and temperature to remedy this?
7 months ago WinterGal
a gooey center is usually a sign of underbaking. everybody's ovens run a little differently in temp, like it or not. is your cake a nice dark golden brown and did you test the center for doneness? the deep, rich color can frighten some causing them to pull the cake out early. anyone have other thoughts?
7 months ago jakestavis
how would you adjust the bake time for muffins??
5 months ago JohnL
Muffin adaptation just went up on davidlebovitz.com. Haven't made this cake in at least a year or so--time to throw one together. I'll either make this one or the recipe devised by Cat Cora (Olive Oil Cake: Ladi Tourta) made with ground almonds. Both are excellent recipes.
7 months ago Ross Knodel
Every time i bake this recipe the cake is incredibly moist but always comes out denser than I'd like. Should i use a different ratio of baking soda/baking powder? I've tried mixing the batter until just mixed. I'd say I've used this recipe about 4 or 5 times, HEELLLLLP
7 months ago Ross Knodel
Have also tried to use a chocolate glaze and am thinking of mixing in some chocolate dipped orange rinds next time. Any thought?
7 months ago Laura415
If you used the recipe as written then the acid in the orange juice should have been enough to activate the baking soda and help the cake rise. Because of the hand mixing instructions very little air is getting whipped into the batter. You could also try varying your method using a mixer and whipping the eggs and sugar together until it becomes lighter in color and thicker. That might help your rise or you could take an extreme route and just whip the egg whites until fluffy and fold in gently to lighten the batter with air. A chocolate glaze sounds good. I was thinking a little marmalade in a glaze would be nice.
9 months ago Juliet
Dynamite. Didn't have any Grand Marnier so I doubled the OJ and zest and added a little vanilla. No harm done. Really, really tasty.
8 months ago Ham
Juliet, thanks for adding this comment! I ended up in the same pickle, used your advice, and the cake turned out perfectly delicious. It ended up baking for closer to 1:20 in total.
9 months ago betty888
I love olive oil cakes and made a gluten free version of this this week. Easy and delicious. I used Cup4Cup brand flour, and kept the rest of the recipe the same. I topped it with slightly sweetened whipped cream, and some toasted sliced almonds. Everyone loved it. A keeper for sure.
9 months ago Mrs. mck
If anyone made this with almond milk, can you specify if you used unsweetened almond, unsweetened vanilla? And, what were your measurements - same as for the milk in the original recipe?
9 months ago Ceecee
I use unsweetened vanilla and with the same measurement as the orig recipe
9 months ago Ami
I've made it with unsweetened almond milk. The same amount. I've also made it with flaxseed milk. The same amount as well. I remember it not rising as much as using whole milk, but still tasted the same.
9 months ago Chef Devaux
I would add a nice glazing on this cake, make it even better :)
10 months ago Fabiola Flores
Love it! I just found this cake recipe 4 weeks ago and I have made it 4 times. My family loves it. My daughter is allergic to dairy so I used almond milk instead and it was fantastic. I am making two of them right now to share on Turkey Day! (ps I have no idea what it takes like with whole milk, but I sure is is just as good!)
10 months ago Melissa Gordon
Just made this! Used honey liqueur and tangerines, and added a cinnamon orange glaze, fantastic!